Subject: Small bumpy beetle
Location: Connecticut, USA
January 20, 2013 3:02 pm
I have this specimen in my collection, and I’ve never been able to find any info about it… even about the family (darklings? weevils?) !
All I found is this photo on the net, from a photographer in Connecticut, who also had problems identifying this insect.
It measures about one quarter of an inch and resembles a snoutless weevil.
Thanks you
Signature: David
Warty Leaf Beetle
Hi David,
Are you certain this is a beetle? Darklings and Weevils are both good guesses, but alas, both families are enormous and diverse. We did some initial searching, and we found a Darkling Beetle that this is not. It is not Forked Fungus Beetle pictured on BugGuide. Do you have any additional photos that show the antennae and mouthparts? That might be helpful. We will contact Eric Eaton to get his opinion.
Update:
Thanks to a comment from Jacob, we now know that this is a Warty Leaf Beetle, in the genus Neochlamisus which we verified on BugGuide. “Adults resemble caterpillar droppings” according to Bugguide.
Eric Eaton Confirms Identification
Hi, Daniel:
No, it is a beetle alright, a “warty leaf beetle” to be specific, in the family Chrysomelidae and genus Neochlamisus:
http://bugguide.net/node/view/38181
They mimic caterpillar droppings, if you can believe that!
Great image! I’d love to blog about these, and would enjoy using this picture with the photographer’s permission.
Thanks for sharing!
Eric
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After searching through a few possibilities that ran through my head on Google Images, I found that the genus Neochlamisus has some individuals that look vaguely similar to the little fellow in the picture.
Thanks so much Jacob. We agree that this looks like a match. We almost posted that it might be a Leaf Beetle, but hindsight is like no sight at all.
It does look a lot like Neochlamisus bebbianae Jacob.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neochlamisus_bebbianae
Thanks Trevor. We also got another similar ID.